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ISIS-Inspired Plot Behind Explosive Devices at Gracie Mansion Protest, NYPD Says
By: Andrew Carlson
New York City authorities revealed Monday that two young men accused of throwing improvised explosive devices during a volatile protest outside Gracie Mansion on Saturday were allegedly motivated by extremist ideology linked to ISIS, a development that has heightened concerns about domestic radicalization and the persistence of global terror influences within the United States.
According to a detailed report on Monday by The New York Daily News, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced during a press conference that investigators have determined the explosive materials associated with the suspects bear hallmarks of devices frequently used in ISIS-related bombings across the world. The revelation has dramatically escalated the seriousness of the case, which authorities are now treating as an act of terrorism.
The suspects, identified as Ibraham Kayumi, 19, and Emir Balat, 18, were taken into custody after the chaotic confrontation Saturday afternoon near the mayor’s official residence on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. As The New York Daily News reported, the incident occurred amid a contentious clash between a small group of demonstrators led by right-wing activist Jake Lang and a significantly larger group of counter protesters who had gathered in opposition.
Investigators say the situation escalated dangerously when the two suspects allegedly threw improvised explosive devices into the street during the confrontation, sending smoke billowing into the air and prompting a swift police response.
Speaking outside Gracie Mansion on Monday morning, Commissioner Tisch confirmed that forensic testing conducted by the NYPD’s bomb squad had identified triacetone triperoxide, commonly known as TATP, in two of the devices associated with the suspects.
“TATP is the explosive of choice for ISIS,” Tisch said during remarks quoted by The New York Daily News. “I can confirm this morning that this is being investigated as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism.”
The substance, sometimes referred to by counterterrorism experts as the “Mother of Satan,” is notorious for its extreme volatility and has been used in numerous high-profile terror attacks worldwide. Because it can be produced with relatively accessible chemical ingredients, it has frequently appeared in bombings carried out by extremist groups operating both in the Middle East and in Western cities.
Authorities said the devices thrown during Saturday’s protest were packed with nails, bolts, and other shrapnel intended to amplify their destructive potential. According to The New York Daily News, investigators believe the explosive materials were designed to cause significant injury or death if successfully detonated in a crowded area.
Although the devices failed to explode with full force, officials emphasized that the outcome could easily have been far worse.
“We were fortunate that the devices used this weekend did not cause the kind of harm that they were certainly capable of causing,” Tisch said, as reported by The New York Daily News. “But luck is never a strategy. Devices like this have the potential to cause devastating harm.”
The commissioner noted that the NYPD treats incidents involving explosive devices with the highest level of urgency, deploying counterterrorism specialists and bomb technicians to secure the scene and assess potential threats.
Investigators later recovered a third suspicious device inside a vehicle connected to the suspects on East End Avenue. However, Tisch clarified that the object discovered in the car ultimately did not contain explosive material.
Still, the discovery heightened tensions across the Upper East Side as police temporarily sealed off sections of the neighborhood while bomb technicians conducted precautionary sweeps. According to The New York Daily News report, officers established a security perimeter around the vehicle and initiated limited evacuations until investigators determined that the device posed no immediate danger.
The alarming episode marks the most significant explosive-related incident in New York City since 2017, when Akayed Ullah attempted to detonate a pipe bomb inside a subway passageway beneath the Port Authority Bus Terminal. That device malfunctioned, injuring only the attacker, and Ullah was later sentenced to life in prison.
By referencing the earlier attack, Tisch underscored the persistent vigilance required of law enforcement in a city that has long been considered a potential target for terrorist activity.
The investigation into Kayumi and Balat remains ongoing, and prosecutors have not yet formally announced the full list of charges the suspects may face. However, according to The New York Daily News report, authorities expect the charges to include terrorism-related offenses and the manufacture and possession of explosive devices.
Legal experts say such charges carry severe penalties under both state and federal law, particularly if investigators establish that the suspects were motivated by extremist ideology or intended to inflict mass casualties.
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The events that unfolded outside Gracie Mansion occurred during a protest organized by Lang, whose rhetoric has drawn criticism from numerous community leaders. As The New York Daily News reported, Lang and his supporters had gathered to demonstrate against what they described as the “Islamification” of New York City.
The protest quickly attracted a much larger crowd of counterdemonstrators who assembled to challenge Lang’s message, creating a tense and volatile atmosphere in the area surrounding the mayor’s residence.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani was not present at Gracie Mansion when the confrontation occurred. According to The New York Daily News report, the mayor was attending an event at a museum in Brooklyn with his wife at the time.
In a statement issued following the incident, Mamdani condemned the protest itself, describing it as an event driven by prejudice.
“This was a vile protest rooted in white supremacy entitled ‘Stop the Muslim Takeover of New York City,’” the mayor said, according to The New York Daily News.
Mamdani, who became the city’s first Muslim mayor after his election last year, said that anti-Muslim sentiment was not unfamiliar to him or to the roughly one million Muslim residents of New York City.
“Anti-Muslim bigotry is nothing new to me nor is it anything new for the one million or so Muslim New Yorkers who know this city as our home,” Mamdani said.
At the same time, the mayor emphasized that while New York City remains committed to protecting the right to protest, violence of any kind will not be tolerated.
City officials and security analysts say the incident highlights the increasingly complicated security challenges facing major urban centers, where ideological confrontations, online radicalization, and political polarization can intersect in unpredictable ways.
For the NYPD, the episode also underscores the continuing relevance of counterterrorism preparedness in a city that has historically been a focal point of global extremist threats.
As The New York Daily News has repeatedly reported in its coverage of the investigation, authorities remain focused on determining the extent to which the suspects may have been influenced by international extremist propaganda or connected to broader networks.
Commissioner Tisch concluded her remarks Monday by emphasizing that New York’s law enforcement agencies remain vigilant against any threat that could endanger residents.
The events of the weekend, she warned, serve as a reminder that even isolated incidents involving homemade explosives must be treated with the utmost seriousness.
In a city defined by its diversity, density, and political intensity, the presence of extremist violence—whether inspired by global terror organizations or domestic ideological conflicts—remains a challenge that authorities say they must confront with unwavering resolve.
